World Food Program says 13.7 million people face severe hunger due to global aid cuts
The United Nations World Food Program has warned that cuts in global humanitarian aid are putting almost 14 million people in countries like Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan at risk of severe hunger.
The United States, the World Food Program’s largest donor, significantly reduced its foreign aid under President Donald Trump, while other major countries have also implemented or announced cuts to their development and humanitarian support.
The Rome-based agency on Wednesday noted that “WFP’s funding has never been more challenged. The agency expects to receive 40% less funding for 2025, resulting in a projected budget of $6.4 billion, down from $10 billion in 2024.”
A WFP report, titled “A Lifeline at Risk,” evaluated that cuts to its food support could push 13.7 million people from “crisis” to “emergency” levels of hunger, one step away from famine in a five-level international hunger scale.
The report further added that major World Food Program operations in six countries, namely Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan are facing serious funding shortages before the end of the year.
A World Food Program spokesperson on Thursday explained that the expected 13.7 million increase in the number of severely hungry people included, but was “not exclusive to,” those six countries.
The executive director for the World Food Program, Cindy McCain, stated that “The gap between what WFP needs to do and what we can afford to do has never been larger. We are at risk of losing decades of progress in the fight against hunger.”
Adding that, “It’s not just the countries engulfed in major emergencies. Even hard-won gains in the Sahel region, where 500,000 people have been lifted out of aid dependence, could experience severe setbacks without help, and we want to prevent that.”
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